Dry state & Tourism: Kerala to ape Gujarat

With Kerala deciding to close all the 730 bars to bring about prohibition in a phased manner, Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar Wednesday said they would study Gujarat model of a dry state for tourists.

“When it comes to the tourism industry, tourists arrive in the state for enjoyment and some do drink. Yes, this is an issue. We will look into what the model of operation is in Gujarat,” the minister told reporters here.

“We are told there is some system of issuing a permit in Gujarat, we will now find out what the system is,” he said.

The state government has formulated a policy to achieve total prohibition in Kerala in the next 10 years.

From the next fiscal, liquor would be available only in around 16 five star hotels operating in the state and the 344 state government owned retail outlets.

The target date when Kerala would be declared a complete dry state has been fixed as Oct 2, 2023.

MoU with GoAir

The Kerala Tourism Thursday inked an MoU with budget air-carrier GoAir, which has agreed to offer exclusive discounted fares to tourists visiting the state.
There was a symbiotic relation between aviation and tourism industries and there was already an agreement with Jet Airways, which brings in tourists to Kerala at discounted rates, Kerala Tourism secretary Suman Billa said here.
“Through this arrangement both parties benefit and we hope more airlines will come forward to have an agreement with us as it’s going to be a win-win situation for both,” Billa told reporters after the MoU was inked.
Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar, who was also present on the occasion, said tourists can book discounted GoAir tickets through 42 approved trade partners.
GoAir vice president Manoj Dharmani said the non-availability of liquor was not going to be a negative aspect as far as tourism industry is concerned.
“The beauty of Kerala is the biggest advantage tourism offers here and many in northern India speak so high of Kerala tourism, so liquor is not an issue,” he said, referring to Kerala’s decision to close all the 730 bars to bring about prohibition in a phased manner.
The target date when Kerala would be declared a complete dry state has been fixed as Oct 2, 2023.

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